Appellate Court Upholds Zoning Board Decision That Gas Station and Convenience Store are Two Separate Uses
Feb 10, 2022 | Written by: | Share
The NJ Appellate Division upheld a Zoning Board’s denial of an application to construct a combined gas station and convenience store based, in part, on the Board’s determination that such represented two distinct uses rather than a single combined use. Raritan Partners, LLC, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Raritan Township Board of Adjustment, Docket No. A-1563-20 (decided February 7, 2022).
In 2018, a developer applied to the Raritan Township Zoning Board for site plan approval with variances to construct a Wawa gas station with a convenience store. Under the Township’s zoning ordinances, a convenience store was a permitted use and the gas station was a conditional use on the subject property. The Board determined that the developer required a d(1) use variance because a gas station with a convenience store represented two separate uses and not a single combined use. Ultimately, the Board denied the application because the developer failed to satisfy the criteria to be granted a d(1) use variance, among other reasons. The trial court upheld the Board’s denial and noted that the Township’s zoning ordinances treated gas stations and convenience stores as separate and distinct uses and defined a principal use of a property as the “main purpose” of the property. The Appellate Division agreed with the trial court and also found it instructive that the Township’s zoning ordinances did not permit two principal uses on a property and did not define gas stations and convenience stores as single permitted uses.
This case highlights the importance of carefully wording zoning ordinances to set forth the planning goals of a municipality.
Tara St. Angelo, Esq. concentrates her practice primarily in the areas of municipal and land use law. She was named to the NJ Super Lawyers Rising Stars list for State, Local and Municipal law by Thomson Reuters in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. Contact Ms. St. Angelo at Gebhardt & Kiefer, PC at 908-735-5161 or via email.
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